In coastal areas, wide ranges of wind speeds are experienced. At the upper range of these wind speeds, such as those wind speeds associated with hurricanes or typhoons, great destruction can result not only from the wind itself, but the objects that are hurled about by the wind. One technique that has arisen to protect against the wind and the flying objects that are caused by the wind is to place shutter blades over a desired area such as a window or door. The shutter blades act as a barrier against the wind and the flying objects, preventing them from contacting and damaging the underlying window or door. Shutter blades offer the advantage of being able to be fixed into place, but yet being movable so they can be set aside to expose the door or window they are to protect until needed. Certain locations such as southern Florida have gone as far as to enact exacting building codes in an effort to regulate the design characteristics of storm shutter assemblies. See Sections 2315 and 2314.5 of the South Florida Building Code and Dade County Protocols PA 201-94, 202-94 and 203-94, all of which are incorporated by reference herein.
Quite often, during high wind situations when flying objects strike the shutter blades, it is not the blades themselves which snap, crack, deform or break. Rather, it is the hinge that is formed by two shutter blades connected together which is broken or degraded when an object strikes it. If the object happens to be stopped from penetrating through the shutter blade barrier after it damages or breaks the hinge, then possibly the next time an object strikes the damaged area, the object might break through the shutter blade barrier and thus the building envelope and crash into the underlying structure being protected by the shutter blades. Due to the dynamic nature of wind, if the underlying door or window is compromised, then the wind can enter the structure causing further damage to the structure's interior to say nothing of what rain water carried by the wind into the structure's interior can do. Consequently, it is apparent that a strong hinge is a necessity for an effective shutter blade assembly. Heretofore, hinges of shutter blade assemblies have not proven as strong as needed pursuant to their weight.
Similarly, shutter blades connected in series to form a screen are also used to protect store fronts or residences. The screen placed in front of doors or windows of the shop serves to prevent vandalism or breaking and entry of the premises. The present invention provides a hinge that is stronger than prior art hinges for a given weight and thus provides a shutter blade screen that is stronger than prior art shutter blade screens.
Furthermore, when the screen is folded and not being used, the folded shutter blade screen is desired to be as unobtrusive as possible. The present invention provides a shutter blade, which when connected in series to form a shutter blade screen, allows the screen to be more compact than prior art screens that pass code requirements in a folded state.